Ball clay

Ball clay, a fine plastic clay for ceramics

NO PGA · STANDARD CUSTOMS PROCEDURE

HSN 2508 40 10 (Ball clay) is not covered by a Bureau of Indian Standards Quality Control Order and carries no Partner Government Agency clearance requirement at the tariff-line level. Import follows the standard customs procedure: Importer-Exporter Code (IEC), bill of entry, commercial invoice, packing list. Other clays within Chapter 25 — including fire clay, kaolin, and expanded clay products — may be classified under distinct tariff lines that carry their own compliance considerations.

No partner government agency notification covers this tariff line.

A word of counsel

The principal importer risk at this tariff line is misclassification: ball clay is a specific fine-grained, highly plastic sedimentary clay, and a customs examination that finds the shipment to be kaolin, fire clay, or a calcined refractory clay may trigger re-classification to a different tariff line with retrospective compliance consequences, including detention pending resolution. Verify the product's mineralogical specification and intended use — ceramics, sanitaryware, or refractories — against the customs tariff before shipment.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 2508 40 10 require any pre-import registration?

A valid Importer-Exporter Code is required for any commercial import; no product-specific registration applies to this tariff line.

What changes if the clay is kaolin or a calcined refractory clay rather than ball clay?

Kaolin and calcined refractory clays are classified under separate tariff lines within Chapter 25 and may attract distinct compliance or duty treatment, making accurate mineralogical identification essential before filing the bill of entry.

Last verified against gazette notifications: 2026-05-16. Source: BIS / DGFT / Indian Customs CUSDATA.